The disappearance of Reid
by slep
Summary: An abandoned cabin, a mysterious message and a messenger bag. What has happened to Spencer Reid.


The Agents of the Behavior Analysis Unit had received a message from Jason Gideon claiming there was a case in the Rocky Mountains. With no more to go on than a message and a set of coordinates everyone volunteered to go. It was a four hour drive in the mountains due to the poor road maintenance and the twists and turns of the road. At the coordinates Gideon had sent they found a ramshackle cabin surrounded by trees a few miles off the main road. The agents got out of the car and looked for signs of life: the only one they found was firewood against the side of the house and smoke rising from the chimney. They knocked on the door but no answered. They announced themselves and again received no response. They let themselves in; there was no lock on the door.

The cabin was only one room: the only thing of note in the cabin was the fireplace against the far wall. The furniture consisted of a plank of wood supported by a log serving as a table and another log next to it for a seat. Wooden bowls were on the plank, a stack of firewood was near the hearth. The cabin was patched up but still barely heated, the floor, roof and walls were old and somewhat rotten. The only signs that anyone had been there was the fire in the fireplace and a pot set up on a makeshift tripod. Morgan stirred it using the stick inside and found it mostly water with what appeared tree bark, small bones, and roots.

"I can't imagine anyone staying here for very long." Emily observed

"It would be a great place for a serial killer though, isolated, controlled, plenty of places to hide bodies." Rossi remarked

"He would have to be really dedicated though to drive four hours here and back again, plus he'd lose his killing spot when winter came." Morgan said

"Alright Morgan, JJ, wait here in case anyone comes back. Rossi, Emily, and I will search the woods." Hotch ordered

Rossi, Emily, and Hotch went into the woods, splitting up to cover more ground. JJ, and Morgan started looking around the cabin. It was mid September but high up in the mountains snow already covered the ground. They combed the woods for an hour but find no sign of another human being. Hotch got a call from Morgan saying that they had found something. Hotch called Emily, and Rossi and they walked back to the cabin, by the time they got back to the cabin, snow was falling and the light was fading. When they walked in they found Reid's messenger bag on the table

"We found this, along with a pile of tree bark, under some floorboards in the eastern corner of the room. His badge, gun, wallet, and a book with torn out pages was inside. All the bullets in his guns are missing." Morgan said

"Did you find anything else?" Hotch asked

"Not really, we find a makeshift toilet out back, a broken down axe next to a woodpile outside, and a bucket that's it." JJ answered

"We didn't see another vehicle as we drove up, so where is he?" Emily asked

"There's no way to know there's hundreds of acre of forest outside, it might be impossible to find him." Rossi said

"I'm going to call Garcia, have her trace Reid's car and cell phone." Morgan said

There was no service to Morgan used the satellite phone they had brought.

"Hey baby girl, I need you to trace Reid's car, and phone for me."

"Why? I thought he was in Los Vegas for the month visiting his mom."

"We found his messenger bag in the cabin Gideon sent us to, there's no other sign of him though. We're hoping you can find him."

Garcia did her thing and five minutes later reported back

"Reid bought a plane ticket to Denver, and then rented a car. He drove to Grand Junction and rented a hotel room for four days. His phone stopped working the day after he checked in."

"Thanks baby girl, we'll call when we know something."

Morgan hung up and the team discussed what they had learned which wasn't much. Eventually Hotch made a plan

"The road is partly unmaintained and the path here is hard to find. In the dark it would be hard to drive back down, more so with the snow. We'll stay here tonight; see if the person who uses this cabin shows up. In the morning Morgan, Emily I want you to drive to Grand Junction and check out what Reid was doing there. The rest of us will stay here and try to figure out why Gideon contacted us, and look for Reid."

The team brought in their gear and set up camp. Rossi brought in wood and built up the fire. Hotch and JJ made food, the team stayed up three hours after sunset but no one came and so everyone but Morgan who had first watch went to sleep. Morgan and Emily departed an hour after sunrise, and JJ, Rossi, and Hotch started combing the woods again. After two hours Rossi found markings on the trees clearly showing someone had been in the woods recently marking a trail.

 **A/N Tell me what you think. I'm trying to be more dialogue heavy to make the story flow easier. Please leave me a review I adore all reviews.**


End file.
